Value Co-creation in Engineering

Purpose - Literature on engineering management and value co-creation are discussed in relation to each other providing a framework for collecting empirical evidence on the role of value co-creation in an industrial network where engineering competence plays a central role. Particularities of value co-creation in engineering management are sought exposed.
Design/methodology/approach – A case study of engineering support and services operations including minor modifications and maintenance in the upstream offshore-related petroleum industry is carried out.
Findings – Engineering error is intolerable in the studied network. Value co-creation, although not explicit in professional discourse, is an inherent feature of engineering minor modifications and maintenance operations in the studied petroleum network. This reveals that value co-creation is driven by operational needs, has evolved naturally over time through experience, rather than driven by managerial imperatives.
Research limitations/implications (if applicable) - If research is reported on in the paper this section must be completed and should include suggestions for future research and any identified limitations in the research process. Not all papers will have research implications.
Practical implications – Bringing forth value co-creation as an explicit course of process development may reveal new and predominately radical forms of innovation; “engineering process reengineering”.
Social implications – Developing value co-creation processes involves people and their business culture including professional terminology rooted in society in general.
Originality/value – “Value co-creation” will provide a new way to analyse existing process solutions. This is particularly pertinent in the studied empirical setting heavily embedded in formalised routines of process documentation.